Friday insights round-up (30 Nov)

30 November 2018

This month we welcomed our new and fantastic Impact Manager, Caitlin Ross. She’s been getting stuck into all things Big Change and soaking up all there is to know about our project partners and some sector insights.

Check out the first of her Friday round-ups, covering a few things Big Change has been hearing and reading over the past week:

Healthy minds

Our project partner Bounce Forward, who recently celebrated their 10th anniversary, today released the results of a 5-year study of their Healthy Minds curriculum. Research revealed that the training is shown to increase pupils’ satisfaction with their lives. You may have seen the program mentioned on BBC Breakfast – if you missed it watch it here.

And you can learn more about Healthy Minds on Bounce Forward’s website.

New statistics

New mental health statistics have come out, showing an overall increase in young people affected by mental disorders with young women aged 17-19 especially at risk.

We’re hoping that conversation around mental health will strengthen the case for interventions such as Bounce Forward who help young people  to cope, and The Difference in their understanding for how best to teach vulnerable students who may suffer from emotional difficulties.

Alternative routes

Unpaid or underpaid apprenticeships and internships have been in the spotlight this week with the revelation that nearly half of apprentices are in debt due to low pay.

Apprenticeships offer an incredibly important alternative for achievement and progression opportunities outside of university. In order for them to be a viable option though, they must be accessible. Read more from the Young Women’s Trust.

Early years

New Philanthropy Capital report on how to fund early years interventions. The DfE this week also released new guidance for home learning. We’re delighted to see focus growing in this area. We’ve begun our Early Years impact focus by supporting project partner EasyPeasy. Find out more about them in our previous blog post.

Schools admit informal exclusions

Coverage of exclusions is increasingly prominent with schools now admitting to informally excluding young people. We think that unearthing the causes of this practice will likely bolster the need for interventions like The Difference, and further interrogate the impact of a test score-driven system for students.

Insights of interest

Big believers in life-long learning, Big Change is always interested in what other organisations are talking about when it comes to fostering change.  The Lankelly Chase Foundation aims to tackle inequality for the disadvantaged and posted this poignant blog about challenging the system by first looking inward to scan for inequality in their our own practice. Check it out.